If the blurb is to be believed, the new ARCTIC MONKEYS single “Leave Before The Lights Come On” is more of a case of ‘the last one before they head off for a break’ rather than ‘the first from a new batch of post-album material’, but if it is then that’s no harm. Let’s face it, the 18 month rollercoaster of thrills and spills t’Arctics have just stepped off is enough to leave most of us needing rehab, house arrest or psychiatric assessment. Or possibly a combination of all three.
So it’s testament to Alex Turner’s drilled troops that they temporarily say goodbye with yet another slice of fizzing social intrigue with “Leave Before The Lights Come On.” Yes, the song itself is more of a slow-burner than the immediate, anthemic likes of “When The Sun Goes Down” or a witty, heartstring-plucker like “Mardy Bum” or “Bigger Boys & Stolen Sweethearts”, but despite the quirky, almost Math-rock changes, the plot’s eminently easy to follow and – besides – while the beat’s being driven along by the majestic Matt Helders, t’Arctics simply can’t lose.
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Admittedly, this is very much an older, wiser Arctics and when Alex sings “how can you wake up with someone you don’t love and not feel slightly fazed by it?” it’s difficult to believe they haven’t been at least scarred by some of this adulation and hard-won experience. Yet for all that they have survived and to still sound this perky shows a depth of character most of their contemporaries sadly lack.
“Leave Before The Lights Come On” might be the all-too-real sound of the arrival of the morning after the night before, but it’s also the sound of The Arctic Monkeys legging it into the oncoming dawn with their trousers on and dignity intact. They’ll come back stronger and we’ll be the richer for it once again, you mark my words.
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